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About This Blog

Engineering for Education is a project by two students at Smith College: Victoria Henry '12, and Geneviéve de Mijolla '13. The project aims to promote education and literacy amongst Peruvian woman by constructing a library at La Casa Mantay, a home for teenage mothers in Cusco, Peru. Most of the mothers at Mantay have been victims of sexual violence, and left school due to their circumstances and the Peruvian stigma against pregnant teens. By providing the mothers of Mantay with a much needed educational resource, we hope to help stop the prevalence of sexual violence against poor, uneducated women and girls and help end educational inequality in Peru.

Additionally, the library aims to promote and implement sustainable building practices. Victoria and Genevieve have used knowledge acquired in their Engineering classes at Smith College to create a sustainable, low-energy library design. All construction materials will be bought locally in order to stimulate the Cusco economy, and construction workers assisting in the project will also be local Cusqueños. We believe that building the library sustainably will not only benefit the planet and the Cusco economy, but that exposure to the idea of sustainability will be educational for the residents of Mantay.

About Us

Victoria Henry is a Junior English Major and Engineerign Minor from Taos, NM. She spent a year living in South America and was a past volunteer at Mantay. Her time at the home inspired this project. Despite her fair skin and British name, she thinks she may have her roots in Latin America and can't wait to go back!

Geneviéve de Mijolla is a Sophomore Physics and Engineering Major from Southern France. She's a whiz at programming and a master at functioning on very little sleep. In her spare time she hands out smiles like candy.

Paul Voss is a professor of engineering at Smith College....and also, our amazing advisor for this project!